Display package for lipstick

ABSTRACT

A display package for lipstick or other colored products includes a backing sheet, a transparent cover sheet forming a raised blister, and a chamber within the blister. The lipstick tube, having a projecting portion of the pomade, is disposed in the chamber and is engaged by a portion of the blister to restrain the tube from movement within the chamber. An opaque tube cover is axially slidable by gravitational movement within the chamber. When the display package is oriented in normal display position, the cover gravitationally moves through the chamber to a position where the projecting pomade portion is covered. When the display package is inverted, the cover gravitationally moves through the chamber to a position where the projecting pomade portion is exposed and is visually observable through the blister.

0 llntted States Patent [1 1 1 3,860,003 Warner et a1. Mar. 4, 1975 [54]DISPLAY PACKAGE FOR LIPSTICK 2,139,182 8/1324 Edelll 206/471 341,006 1 7B' d [751 Invemms Rqnald wamer Ottawa Lake 3,404,774 10/1968 Lei/in?206/464 M1ch.; Bobby R. Shepherd, Toledo, Ohlo PrimaryExaminer-William 1. Price [73] Assignee: Cameo, llnc., Toledo, OhioAssistant Eraminer-Ro. E. Hart Attorney, Agent, or FirmRoylance, Abrams,Berdo [22] Flled. Sept. 17, 1973 & Kaul [21] Appl. No.: 398,208

Related U.S. Application Data [57] S R [63] continuatiommpart of Ser No277 164 Aug 2 A display package for lipstick or other colored prod- 1972Pm 3 762 ucts includes a backing sheet, a transparent cover sheetforming a raised blister, and a chamber within 52 us. Cl 206/4531206/45.l5 206/385 blister- The lipstick tube, having a Projecting P206/464 206/468 tion of the pomade, is disposed in the chamber and is 51int. cl. 10650 25/00 engaged by a of blister restrain the tube [58]Field 0fisearch 206/44 45.14 45 l5 4519 from movement within thechamber. An opaque tube 206/453] 4534 385 2 6 cover is axially slidableby gravitational movement 467 within the chamber. When the displaypackage is ori- 1 40/307 ented in normal display position, the covergravitationally moves through the chamber to a position [56] ReferencesCited where the projecting pomade portion is covered.

When the display package is inverted, the cover gravi- UNITED STATESPATENTS tationally moves through the chamber to a position 3,027,921l/l936 Marcus 206/385 where the projecting pomade portion i exposed andis visually observable through the blister. 2:825:085 3/1958 lngraham206/229 7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures l2 x \x 42 &

PATH-HEW 41975 ow I 3 ll DISPLAY PACKAGE FUR LIPSTICK This applicationis a continuation-impart of our application Ser. No. 277,164, filed Aug.2, 1972, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,762,545.

The invention relates to a display package for lipstick, and moreparticularly it relates to a display package for lipstick havinggravitationally movable opaque means for selectively exposing the pomadeto visual observation.

A known and conventional means for commerical marketing of lipsticks isto merely display a rack of such lipsticks in a retail outlet. thelipstick is comprised of the colored cosmetic stick, known in the tradeas a pomade, which is contained in a housing and provided with a drivemechanism to selectively move the pomade from and into the housing andan opaque tubular cover placeable over the housing to protect thepomade. A common way to merchandise such lipsticks, particularly inself-service stores, is by means of a cardtype display package whereinthe lipstick is either completely enclosed in a sheet of plastic mountedto a backing card, or is otherwise securely mounted to a backing card.This package, which is sometimes reffered to as a blister pack, can beeasily mounted to a display rack, and it prevents damage to the pomade,prevents contamination of the pomade, and is more difficult to pilferdue to the large size of the plastic blister and card. However, attemptsto market lipsticksin blister packs have not been altogethersatisfactory. Since the lipstick was completely enclosed by a clearfilm, could not be removed therefrom without destroying the film, andthe pomade was covered by its cover tube, it was impossible to tell whatcolor or shade of pomade was contained inside the lipstick cover andhousing.

In order to permit visual observation of a pomade while a lipstick ismounted in a blister pack, it has been suggested that the lipstick inthe blister pack be provided with a transparent cover through which thecolor and shade of the pomade can be observed. However, such an approachoverlooked the fact that in such a packaging arrangement the pomadewould be constantly exposed to light. The combination ofthe naturallight and the artificial radiation from the typical fluorescent lightsused in a retail outlet would result in a discoloration or at least achange in the color of the pomade being displayed. Thus, such amarketing approach could not be used to display and sell lipsticks withassurance that the purchaser was obtaining the color and shade which themanufacturer intended to offer.

The object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedlipstick display package which will allow visual observation of thecolor and shade of a pomade while preventing contamination, reducing therisk of pilferage and eliminating harmful exposure to exterior lightsources. In particular, it is the object of the present invention toprovide a lipstick package wherein the pomade is normally covered andhence not visually observable, but wherein through a simple manualmanipulation, and without disassembly of the lipstick package, thepomade is brought into view. While the invention will be described inconnection with lipsticks, the principles ofthe invention are equallyapplicable to other colored products and preparations, particularlythose sold in display packages.

Referring to the drawings, which form a part of this originaldisclosure:

FIG. I is a perspective view of a display package for lipstick inaccordance with the present invention. shown in display position;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view, partly in section. taken along line 22 ofFIG. I; and

FIG. 3 is an elevational view, similar to FIG. 2, but showing thepackage in an inverted position.

The foregoing objects are attained by first mounting a conventionallipstick, comprising a pomade, a tube or housing, drive means for movingthe pomade into and out of the housing, and a tubular cover receivableon the housing for covering the pomade, within a chamber formed betweena transparent plastic cover sheet or blister and a backing sheet orcard. The tubular cover forms a gravitationally movable opaque meanswhich is movable from a first position covering a portion of the pomadeextending from the housing to a second position uncovering that portion.When the package is in display position, the opaque means will be in itsfirst position to prevent visual observation of, and harmful lightexposure to, the pomade. A simple inverting ofthe package will allow theopaque means to move from its first position covering the pomade to itssecond position uncovering the pomade. The blister includes a flangeportion engaged with the housing to prevent movement thereof within thechamber and includes an additional flange portion which serves as a stopfor the gravitationally movable tubular cover, when the cover is in thefirst position.

Referring to the drawings in further detail, there is shown in FIG. 1, adisplay package generally desig' nated 10. The package comprises ashaped planar card or backing sheet 12, which can be formed from anysuitable material such as cardboard, and a transparent cover sheet 14,fabricated of thin plastic or the like, and heat-sealed or sealed in anyother suitable manner to one planar surface of the card 12. A portion 16of the plastic cover sheet 14 is spaced from the central portion of thecard 12 for defining a chamber 18 for reception of a lipstick productgenerally designated 20. Midway along one side and adjacent the top edgeof the card 12 is an aperture or hanging hole 22 for the reception of asuitable display support rod.

The lipstick product 20 has a tube or casing or housing which includes abottom barrel portion 24 and an upper barrel portion 26. A conventionaldrive mechanism between the barrel portions permits the bottom portion24 to rotate while the upper portion 26 is held stationery, to thus movethe colored cosmetic preparation or pomade 28 from a position totallyenclosed within the barrel portion 26 to a variety of exposed po sitionswhere it extends beyond the forward end 30 of the barrel portion 26,which also forms the forward end of the housing.

An annular ring or shoulder 32 is provided at the forward end of thebarrel portion 24 and is preferably integral with such barrel portion. Atubular cove member 34 is provided for closing the lipstick housing,with such cover member having a closed upper or forward end 36 and alower edge 38. The cover member 36 is configured to fit onto thelipstick casing once the pomade 28 is retracted into the barrel 26. Thatis, for use by the ultimate consumer, the cover member 34 surrounds andslides over the upper barrel portion 26 until the edge 38 on the coverabuts against the forward end of the shoulder 32, at which time thelipstick product 20 will be completely closed. Preferably, the entirelipstick housing and cover will be fabricated of opaque material, but inany event the barrel portion 24 with its ring portion 32, and the covermember 34, will be formed of opaque material or will otherwise betreated to render the same opaque. Thus, when the cover 34 is applied tothe housing, the pomade 28 will be protected from exposure to light.

The lipstick product 20 is thus formed by a first section 24, 26, 32having a portion of the pomade 28 projecting beyond the forward end 30thereof, and a second section formed by the cover 32. The blister 16 hasopposed ends 40 and 42 which define between them the axial length of thechamber 18. The axial length of the chamber exceeds the combined axiallength of the first and second sections of the lipstick product 20.

The blister 16 has a first portion 44 which surrounds and which receivesthe barrel portion 24 and its attached or integral annular ring 32. Atone end of the portion 24, the transverse end wall 42 is provided, andat the other end, an inwardly directed flange or shoulder 46 extendsfrom the portion 44 and merges into a second portion 48. The location ofthe shoulder 46 is substantially coincident with the forward edge of thering 32 and the shoulder 46 extends inward far enough to form a seatagainst which the forward edge of the ring can abut. The second portion48 surrounds and receives the barrel portion 26 and extends forwardlyalmost to the forward edge 30 of the housing. However, the secondportion 48 terminates slightly short of the forward end 30 by merginginto an outwardly directed flange or shoulder 50. The outwardly directedshoulder 50 in turn merges into a third portion 52 which extends for adistance exceeding the axial length of the cover member 34 andterminates in the transverse end wall 40.

As can be seen, whether the display package is in its normal hanging ordisplay position of FIG. 2 or in its inverted position of FIG. 3, thetube portion of the lipstick 20 remains in the same position because theshoulder 46 prevents movement of the barrel 24 and ring 32 in onedirection and the transverse wall 42 prevents movement thereof in theother direction. However, the cover member 34 does move undergravitational forces, with its path of motion being guided generally bythe third portion 52 of the blister 16 and the limits of its movementbeing controlled by the shoulder 50 and the transverse end wall 40.Thus, when the display package 10 is in its normal hanging or displayposition as shown in FIG. 2, the lower edge 38 of the cover member restsupon the shoulder 50 of the blister, thus covering the exposed pomadeportion 28 and a small portion adjacent the forward end of the barrelportion 26. In this position, the pomade is protected from lightexposure by means of the opaque material of the cover member 34. Whenthe display package 10 is inverted, as shown in FIG. 3, the cover member34 slides by gravitational forces until the end 36 of the cover memberabuts against the transverse wall 40. In this position, the viewing areabetween the forward end 30 of the housing and the lower end 38 of thecover member is such that the exposed pomade 28 is visible to permit theprospective purchaser to observe the actual color and shade of thepomade. If desired, a flattened surface 56 can be provided along thefront of the third portion 52 of the blister, as shown in FIG. 1. Thisflattened surface 56 enables the exposed portion of the pomade 28 to beseen without any distortion which might otherwise arise by lightreflection on the curved surface of the third portion 52.

In this embodiment of the invention, certain advantageous dimensions maybe utilized. Thus, the overall axial length of the chamber 18 can be5-1/32 inches with the first blister portion 44 having a length of1-23/32 inches, the second blister portion 48 having a length of 1-3/32inches and the third blister portion 52 having a length of 2-7/32inches. The length of the cover member 34 can be l-5/l6 inches and thelength of the barrel portion 26 can be l hinches.

While the described embodiment of the present invention has beendirected to an arrangement where the blister restrains movement of thetube section and guides the movement of the cover section, the reversearrangement could also be used, namely, an arrangement where the blisterrestrains movement of the cover section and guides movement of the tubesection. Likewise, while the invention has been described specificallywith lipsticks, it could also be used with other products having twoseparable sections, one of which carries a colored portion. It will beapparent to those skilled in the art that other chanages andmodifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A display package which permits selective visual observation of thecolor of a product contained therein, said display package comprising:

a backing sheet;

a transparent cover sheet overlying at least the central portion of saidbacking sheet;

said transparent cover sheet having a portion spaced away from saidbacking sheet to form a raised blister;

chamber means formed between said backing sheet and said raised blister;

said product being disposed within said chamber means and including:

a first opaque section having a colored portion adjacent an end thereof,and

a second opaque section which fits over the colored portion and the endof said first opaque section to prevent visual observation of saidcolored portion;

said first and second opaque sections having a combined axial lengthwhich is less than the axial length of said chamber means;

said raised blister being engaged with one of said opaque sections toprevent axial movement thereof within said chamber means;

said raised blister forming a guide for the other of said opaquesections to permit it to slide axially within said chamber means to movetoward and away from said one opaque sections;

said display package being selectively and manually movable between adisplay position and an inverted position;

said other opaque section being gravitationally moved by axial slidingwithin said chamber means, when said display package is manually movedto said display position, until said second opaque section fits over thecolored portion and the end of said first opaque section to cover saidcolored portion and to prevent visual observation thereof;

said other opaque section being gravitationally moved by axial slidingwithin said chamber means, when said display package is manually movedto said inverted position, until said second opaque section is spacedaway from the colored portion and the end of said first opaque sectionto expose said colored portion and to permit visual observation thereofthrough said raised blister.

2. A display package as defined in claim 1 wherein said one opaquesection engaged with said raised blister is said first opaque sectionand wherein said other opaque section guided by said raised blister issaid second opaque section.

3. A display package as defined in claim 2 wherein said first opaquesection is a lipstick tube and wherein said colored portion is a pomadedisposed within said lipstick tube and projecting beyond the forward endthereof, and wherein said second opaque section is a tube cover adaptedto fit over said lipstick tube.

4. A display package as defined in claim 3 wherein said raised blisterhas a first flange portion engaged with said lipstick tube to preventaxial movement thereof within said chamber means and wherein said raisedblister has a second flange portion, axially spaced from said firstflange portion, to form a stop for the end of said tube cover when saiddisplay package is in said display position.

5. A display package as defined in claim 4 wherein the forward end ofsaid lipstick tube and the projecting portion of said pomade extendaxially beyond said second flange portion and are visible through saidblister when said display package is in said inverted position.

6. A display package as defined in claim 5 wherein said raised blisterhas a flattened portion overlying the forward end of said lipstick tubeand the projecting portion of said pomade to facilitate visualobservation of said pomade when said display is in said invertedposition.

7. a display package as defined in claim 3 further including aperturemeans in said backing sheet adjacent the top thereof for mounting saiddisplay package in said display position.

1. A display package which permits selective visual observation of thecolor of a product contained therein, said display package comprising: abacking sheet; a transparent cover sheet overlying at least the centralportion of said backing sheet; said transparent cover sheet having aportion spaced away from said backing sheet to form a raised blister;chamber means formed between said backing sheet and said raised blister;said product being disposed within said chamber means and including: afirst opaque section having a colored portion adjacent an end thereof,and a second opaque section which fits over the colored portion and theend of said first opaque section to prevent visual observation of saidcolored portion; said first and second opaque sections having a combinedaxial length which is less than the axial length of said chamber means;said raised blister being engaged with one of said opaque sections toprevent axial movement thereof within said chamber means; said raisedblister forming a guide for the other of said opaque sections to permitit to slide axially within said chamber means to move toward and awayfrom said one opaque sections; said display package being selectivelyand manually movable between a display position and an invertedposition; said other opaque section being gravitationally moved by axialsliding within said chamber means, when said display package is manuallymoved to said display position, until said second opaque section fitsover the colored portion and the end of said first opaque section tocover said colored portion and to prevent visual observation thereof;said other opaque section being gravitationally moved by axial slidingwithin said chamber means, when said display package is manually movedto said inverted position, until said second opaque section is spacedaway from the colored portion and the end of said first opaque sectionto expose said colored portion and to permit visual observation thereofthrough said raised blister.
 2. A display package as defined in claim 1wherein said one opaque section engaged with said raised blister is saidfirst opaque section and wherein said other opaque section guided bysaid raised blister is said second opaque section.
 3. A display packageas defined in claim 2 wherein said first opaque section is a lipsticktube and wherein said colored portion is a pomade disposed within saidlipstick tube and projecting beyond the forward end thereof, and whereinsAid second opaque section is a tube cover adapted to fit over saidlipstick tube.
 4. A display package as defined in claim 3 wherein saidraised blister has a first flange portion engaged with said lipsticktube to prevent axial movement thereof within said chamber means andwherein said raised blister has a second flange portion, axially spacedfrom said first flange portion, to form a stop for the end of said tubecover when said display package is in said display position.
 5. Adisplay package as defined in claim 4 wherein the forward end of saidlipstick tube and the projecting portion of said pomade extend axiallybeyond said second flange portion and are visible through said blisterwhen said display package is in said inverted position.
 6. A displaypackage as defined in claim 5 wherein said raised blister has aflattened portion overlying the forward end of said lipstick tube andthe projecting portion of said pomade to facilitate visual observationof said pomade when said display is in said inverted position.
 7. adisplay package as defined in claim 3 further including aperture meansin said backing sheet adjacent the top thereof for mounting said displaypackage in said display position.